John - Currach

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May20

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Excellent 1900 Census Example

Posted in: Census, New York

I’ll start by saying I don’t mean my example is excellent – but the varied information in this particular record is…

While seeking my wife’s great-grandfather Michael A. Duffy’s family in the 1900 census, I went through several possibilities until I found one that appears to be a pretty good match. It helps that his father had the first name of Anthony which doesn’t appear to be too common. For Duffys in New York anyway.

One thing that is off is Michael’s birth year – but since some of the years listed in my Tierney family’s 1900 record are way off from documented dates, that’s not bothering me too much.

So, I’ll be following these folks around awhile and see where they lead me. But, even if it doesn’t work out between us I will still be glad that I found this record – it is an excellent teaching example! Take a look below… Read More | Comments
May18

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Double Check Your Certificates

Posted in: Resources

A quick and simple blog post to remind everyone to double check their documents, whether new or old. Recently I found an index record at Familysearch that was a perfect fit for my wife’s great-grandparents marriage in Iowa (giving leeway for some obvious surname misspellings, of course.)

So, we ordered a copy of the original and it came very quickly.

However, as I scanned the certificate and became annoyed that their exact dates of birth were missing, I soothed myself with the knowledge that we now had the names of Michael A. Duffy’s parents: Anthony Duffy and Annie O’Hara, as I had read on the index.

Or did we? It turned out the county recording office mistakenly typed in the bride’s surname as the groom’s mother’s surname! That would have spun someone’s wheels for awhile in the next generation or two.

An honest mistake – the county nicely apologized and told us to just send back the certificate for a replacement.
May16

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Keep Your Thumbs Safely Locked Away

Posted in: Technology

In an article on Ancestry.com entitled Preparing for Disaster, Maureen Taylor wrote a nice informative article on some preparedness tips for photos and family treasures.

I noticed one comment on that article that I thought could use some elaboration:

I keep a thumbdrive containing scanned photos and documents, along with data from my genealogy software program, in a safe deposit box. However, these storage devices are not guaranteed to last forever. They should be replaced at least every 10 years.

As someone involved in information technology, security and and disaster recovery for many years, I like to see people mention how they have things locked away in alternate locations.

However – don’t lock yourself into the idea that technology has a finite or even solidly estimable time to failure. That will only cause you some sort of loss in the long run. Having a thumb drive in a safe deposit box is terrific and way ahead of most people’s plans, I’d guess. Read More | Comments
May13

2 Comments

The Poor Ancient Indians

Posted in: Ruminations

This is not genealogy in any way, but is a bedtime conversation I had with our 4 year old daughter tonight as she fell asleep.

I don’t want to forget it, so posting it here for posterity – my apologies to the 4.5 readers of my blog for going off track for a minute.
Lily: Daddy, are you rich?
Me: Not with money, honey, but I am rich with Love.
*Quiet*
Lily: Oh, I get it! You have lots of Love! Everybody is rich with Love!
Me: Well, I don’t know if everyone is, but I know I am because of you, Miles, & Mommy.
*Extended Quiet*
Lily: Well, I’ll tell you who’s not rich with Love. The ancient Indians – they’re dead.
May4

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App Permission Craziness

Posted in: Fun, Technology

This is by no means a genealogy specific item, but as someone who works in information systems and security I am amazed at the breadth of permissions some convenience apps ask for online.

DO: Weigh the benefit you receive for the app in question. While it is nice to have an automatic connection from the Flickr to the Facebook, is it really worth access to ALL of my profile and my friends’ information? Or access to my chat?

DON’T: Deny all apps – some are quite useful. Common sense rules the day here.

You do realize this permission graphic is a joke I made, right? (Although the only things I added were the last 3 items.)